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they
[ they ]
pronoun
He needed a ride, and she had her car, so they left together.
- people in general:
They say he's rich.
- nominative singular pronoun:
- (used to refer to a generic or unspecified person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): A person may enlist only if they are over 18.
Whoever is of voting age, whether they are interested in politics or not, should vote.
A person may enlist only if they are over 18.
- (used to refer to a specific or known person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): My best friend from high school is famous now—too bad we didn’t stay in touch after they moved to California.
The victim refused to testify at the trial because they feared for their life.
My best friend from high school is famous now—too bad we didn’t stay in touch after they moved to California.
- (used to refer to a nonbinary or gender-nonconforming person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context):
Quinn is waiting for summer vacation to adopt a puppy, so they will have more time to get their new family member properly settled.
they
/ ðeɪ /
pronoun
- refers to people or things other than the speaker or people addressed
they fight among themselves
- refers to unspecified people or people in general not including the speaker or people addressed
in Australia they have Christmas in the summer
- not_standard.refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody
if anyone objects, they can go
- an archaic word for those
blessed are they that mourn
Usage
Grammar Note
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of they1
Idioms and Phrases
see bigger they come ; let the chips fall where they may .Example Sentences
Kanye West finally got Kim Kardashian the Vogue cover he/she/they have been waiting for.
Thinking about fairness comes more naturally to liberals, and they/we care passionately about it.
The congressman's public flogging doesn't fit the crime, and is emblematic of our kick-'em-when-they're-down culture.
Whichever way you look at it, the are-they-or-aren't-they couple earned the portmanteau Brittana and a lot of attention.
Who are Hov, Hova, Jigga, and Jiggaman?They are all the same person: Jay-Z.
There was a certain difficulty in obtaining the necessary funds without announcing precisely what they-were for.
A rose from the cottage of Mavis Clare?a rose from the garden of Eden!they are one and the same to me!
"Reckon I could hold my own agin most of they-uns if I only had a new-fangled gun," returned the boy.
What a noble illustration of the tender laws of this favoured country!they let the paupers go to sleep!
Father declared that he could not lift his feet-they seemed sealed to the ground, and he felt that he must go back.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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